Ronghe could hear the leaving sounds of the guard on the horse from outside the carriage. The carriage slowing to a standstill made him nervous. He heard the guard saying something to his coachman, but couldn't make out the words because the loud rumbling noises made by the wheels drowned out the verbal exchange. They should have already reached the location.
Ronghe lifted the weighted curtain to peek at the surroundings. Pine trees lined the mountainside, standing placidly in the still air. Silence. Not even a chirp or cawing from the birds around. Crows liked to roost in this area.
His forehead tightened. Other than the horse grunting heavily from its exhaustion running, he couldn't hear any other noise in the forest. Everything was too calm for his liking.
They found themselves vulnerable in the wilderness outside Bian town. In usual circumstances, he would lead an entourage of local magistrate guards armed with bows and arrows on top of their weapons.
Could it be bandit activity? He recalled the layout of the villages on the outskirts of Bian. All the villages he knew lived in fortified compounds, either made of rock or wooden stake-walls.
Some rock fortifications belonged to old military outposts constructed decades before his time, to guard against roaming bandits of the past. Everything changed once the Grand Prince took over and purged the bandits, razing their strongholds to the ground.
After the military vacated the fortifications, nearby villagers occupied them.
Now those fortifications stood to guard the villages against one thing - wild beasts. Snow leopards, bears, wolves and even tigers have been reported in the vicinity. The bears should still be in hibernation, not out and about. The season was still too cold for them to wander around.
Ahan murmured something incoherent in his nap, eyes closed and head leaned against the carriage wall, blissfully unaware of the sudden change.
Ronghe got up, went to the closed door, and asked, "What's going on?"
He didn't want Ahan to panic, although unaware his movement awoken the napping Ahan, who yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Sir, there's unusual movement ahead. The guard is just checking, and it looks like he's coming back," his coachman replied.
"What unusual movement?"
"MOVE UP!" the gruff voice of the same guard shouted from a distance, interrupting Ronghe.
"Sir?" the coachman asked, unsure of whether to obey the orders.
"Just do what he says." Ronghe got up, turned around and noticed Ahan looking at him with big frightened eyes darting around nervously. The boy's body shook uncontrollably, with his hands clutching his clothing.
"It's ok…we stopped because the guard told us to," Ronghe said. Ahan nodded without saying a word.
Ronghe knew little about Ahan's past except bits of information from Ahan's mouth when he was willing to talk. The boy suffered trauma from witnessing something terrible. Ronghe remembered the scars on Ahan's back, which resembled an animal's claw marks.
Maybe he shouldn't have taken Ahan out, but the boy insisted on following upon learning they were going out of Bian town.
Ronghe sighed as the carriage moved along, albeit at a slower, more comfortable pace than the rushing speed they went at. If not for his memories of the past, he wouldn't even be in Bian.
He knew if he entered the Imperial Court, a large tragedy will befall him. Young, a little over 20 and only a lowly concubine's son, Ronghe knew the first wife of his father saw him as a succession threat to her three sons, his half brothers.
The first wife was a venomous snake who didn't stop at any means to poison his father's minds against the concubines and their children. Ronghe knew his mother had died in her hands, but he never gathered enough proof to accuse her.
Even if he did, the evidence was useless without his father's approval to pursue the matter. A concubine was no more than a slave to his father. So were their children.
The first wife's sons never failed to remind him of his status. They were the legitimate sons, and he was illegitimate. Their marriages will be arranged with legitimate daughters of powerful families. However, his father's first wife could arrange his marriage with any woman, even a lowly servant, in Huangcheng. Ronghe didn't want her to have any part in planning his future.
Nothing good came out of such matches. Hence, another reason to choose Bian. Bian was in Yandi and Yandi's local laws, unlike other Dayan territories, forbade forced marriages. Yandi's officials also have to submit permission to the Grand Prince for approval to marry. An added blow to his father's first wife's plans to marry any random women off to him without the approval of the Grand Prince.
If Ronghe wanted to survive again, and avoid being used as a political pawn, he had to leave his toxic family and Huangcheng Capital City. Ronghe still felt a chill in his bones upon entering the Imperial Court within the central palace to receive his posting to Bian.
Never will he suffer the same fate in his previous life.
Even if it means being posted in the middle of nowhere, near the borders where no one wished to go, and lacking any promotional prospect. His classmates mocked him for volunteering to take up a post nobody wanted, while his grand tutor lamented a waste of his talents.
"Master," Ahan spoke, tugging his sleeve, breaking Ronghe's train of thoughts. "I smell an animal, a wild beast. There's blood — animal and human."
Ahan's eyes fixated on the closed door, wide open in fear. Ronghe waved his hand in front of his eyes, but Ahan's eyes only grew wider as though stuck in a horrifying nightmare which only the boy could see.
Not good, Ronghe thought. The Grand Prince would be nearby with the growing noises of horses trotting near their carriage and men talking.
If Ahan started screaming and kicking again in one of his flashback episodes, his behaviour would seem disrespectful to an imperial family member. There was only one punishment for such perceived disrespect — death.
Given the Grand Prince's notorious reputation as a Killing God, Ronghe doubted any leniency will come Ahan's way. He regretted letting Ahan follow.
"Ahan!" Ronghe called out in desperation, shaking the young boy by his shoulders.
He tried pinching him out of the trance, but his actions served made Ahan tremble even more. Ronghe could see an unimaginable terror in Ahan's eyes, while the color drained from Ahan's face. Beads of sweat broke out on the boy's forehead.
The carriage came to a full stop with a knock on the door, a signal to alight the carriage. Ronghe heard footsteps approaching his carriage and ran out of patience.
He slapped Ahan in the face, hoping the pain would snap him out of the trance.
Useless. Ahan raised his arm, pointing with one shaking finger at the door.
"Come on, Ahan, snap out of it!" Ronghe muttered under his breath while Ahan continued pointing at the door. Ahan's eyes drifted from the door to his gaze.
The door opened. Ahan screamed, "THEY ARE COMING! RUN! RUN!"